JPH11252745A - Electrical connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mutually connect different inter-layer bus-bars with each other by utilizing reasonably a flexible printed circuit. SOLUTION: In an electrical connection box 5 for storing laminated bus-bars 3 via insulation plates therein, to at least one of either uppermost and lowermost layers of the laminated bus-bars 3, a flexible printed circuit 6 is applied to both the surfaces of whose copper foil patterns 7 are covered with insulating sheets 8 to join portions of the copper foil patterns 7 of the flexible printed circuit 6 to a bus-bar 3A of a first layer of the laminated bus-bars 3 on which the flexible printed circuit 6 is applied. On the other hand, notches 3b or holes 3d are formed in an insulating plate 3A so that a bus-bar 3B of a second layer other than the first layer is exposed to the flexible printed circuit 6, portions of the flexible printed circuit 6 are bent into the staircase forms with heights corresponding to the steps of the notches 3b or holes 3d to obtain bent portions 6e, 6f. Then the bent portions 6e, 6f are joined to the bus-bar 3B which are other than the layers by corresponding portions 7d, 7e of the copper patterns 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric junction box, and more particularly, to a method for connecting a bus bar between different layers to a flexible printed board.
It is intended to make a reasonable connection using a circuit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrical junction box used for branch connection of a wire harness for automobiles to various electric components is designed such that branch connection points are concentrated in one place and wiring is rationally and economically connected. With the increase in the density of wire harnesses, various types have been developed according to vehicle types or applications.

[0003] As an electric connection box as described above, there is one in which a bus bar 4 laminated via an insulating plate 3 is accommodated in a lower case 1 and an upper case 2 as shown in FIG.

[0004]

However, since the stacked bus bars 4 need to complete a circuit for each layer, the number of circuits that can be arranged in one layer is limited and dead space is reduced. May have occurred. That is, 1
This is because when five bus bar patterns are arranged in the hierarchy, there is a space for one more circuit, but the space cannot be used because the pattern cannot be routed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric junction box which can be connected rationally by using a printed circuit so that dead space of a bus bar can be effectively used.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an electric junction box containing bus bars stacked via an insulating plate, wherein at least one of an uppermost layer and a lowermost layer of the busbars is provided. A flexible printed circuit made by covering both sides of a copper foil pattern with an insulating sheet is applied, and a part of the copper pattern of the flexible printed circuit is joined to a bus bar of the applied layer. On the other hand, a notch or a hole is formed in the insulating plate so that the bus bar of the layer other than the applied layer is exposed, and a portion of the flexible printed circuit is formed at a height corresponding to the step of the notch or the hole. Is bent stepwise, and a part of the copper foil pattern of the bent portion is joined to a bus bar of a layer other than the applied layer. It is to provide a connection box.

According to the present invention, a part of the copper foil pattern of the flexible printed circuit applied to the uppermost (or lowermost) busbar is joined to the applied busbar, and A part of the flexible printed circuit is bent stepwise at a height corresponding to the notch or hole formed in the insulating plate so that the busbars of the layers other than the cheek layer are exposed, and the copper foil of this bent part By joining a part of the pattern to the bus bar of a layer other than the layer to which the pattern is applied, the bus bar between different layers can be rationally connected by using a flexible printed circuit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a pin-like rib is formed on an insulating plate near a joint between the copper foil pattern of the flexible print circuit and the bus bar, and the rib is formed on the flexible print circuit. A hole to be inserted into the rib is formed, and after inserting the hole in the rib, the tip of the rib is crushed and enlarged, and the vicinity of the joint of the flexible printed circuit can be fixed to the insulating plate. .

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that parts having the same configuration and operation as those of the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric connection box 5 includes a lower case 1 and an upper case 2.
Busbars 4 stacked therein via insulating plates 3 (A to D)
(A to E), and lower case 1 and upper case 2
And the two cases 1 and 2 are mutually locked (not shown).
It is designed to lock with. In the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (d), five bus bars 4 (A to E) are stacked via four insulating plates 3 (A to D).

As shown in detail in FIG. 5A, the first layer (uppermost layer) bus bar 4A has a flexible printed circuit formed by covering both surfaces of a copper foil pattern 7 with insulating sheets 8.
Circuit 6 (hereinafter abbreviated as FPC in the present embodiment) is applied to this FP as shown in FIG.
Each end 7a of the copper foil pattern 7 exposed from C6,.
Is bonded to a proper position of the applied first layer bus bar 4A by laser welding or the like. Note that the FPC 6 may be configured to be applied to the fifth-layer (lowest-layer) bus bar 4E.
Further, the configuration may be such that both the first layer (the uppermost layer) bus bar 4A and the fifth layer (the lowermost layer) bus bar 4E are applied.

Each end 7 of the copper foil pattern 7 of the FPC 6
a and the like, pin-shaped ribs 3a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 (b) are formed on the insulating plate 3A near the welded joint of the first-layer bus bar 4A, respectively. A hole 6a to be inserted into each rib 3a is formed, and the rib 3a is formed.
After the hole 6a is inserted into the hole 3a, the vicinity of the welded joint of the FPC 6 is fixed to the insulating plate 3A by crushing the tip of the rib 3a with a hot press or the like as shown in FIG. In addition, an appropriate place of the FPC 6 is similarly fixed to the insulating plate 3A.

The FPC 6 is formed into a flat shape as shown in FIG. 3 during molding.
As shown in FIG. 2, a part of the FPC 6 is bent. That is, the flat FPC 6 shown in FIG. 3 is formed by dividing the valley fold line aa and the ridge fold line bb with the valley fold line cc and the valley fold line d-d along the respective fold lines. 3 as shown in
The inverted U-shaped bent portion 6b is processed into one of the three bent portions 6b to form a land portion 6c floating above the insulating plate 3A to connect components by soldering. I do. The two bent portions 6b that do not form the land 6c are for obtaining one bent portion 6b that forms the land 6c.

Similarly, the flat FPC 6 is changed to a valley fold line e.
-E and mountain fold line ff and mountain fold line gg and valley fold line h
-H, processing is performed along each folding line into three inverted U-shaped bent portions 6d as shown in FIG. 2, and a part is placed in one of the three bent portions 6d. A land portion 6c is formed so as to float upward from the insulating plate 3A for connection by soldering. The two bent portions 6d that do not form the land portion 6c are the same as the one bent portion 6d that forms the land portion 6c.
d to obtain d.

If the copper foil pattern 7 is provided with notches 7f serving as bending guides 7b at positions before and after each of the bending lines aa to hh, the FPC 6 can be bent at an accurate position at a right angle. .

That is, as shown in detail in FIG. 6 (a), the bending guide 7b is provided with a notch recess 7f in a part of the copper foil pattern 7 to make the copper foil pattern 7 thin, The FPC 6 can be bent along a bending line having no copper foil pattern 7 at the position. This recess 7f
As a result, the copper foil pattern 7 becomes thin, so that bending can be easily performed.

As shown in detail in FIG. 6 (b), when a dummy copper foil pattern 7g serving as a folding guide 7b is provided separately from the copper foil pattern 7, the copper foil at the front and rear positions of the folding guide 7b is provided. The FPC 6 can be bent along a bending line having no pattern 7. Since there is no copper foil pattern 7 between the bending guides 7b which are the dummy copper foil patterns 7g, the bending can be easily performed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The notch 3b is formed in the insulating plate 3A of the first layer bus bar 4A to which a part of the second layer bus bar 4B is exposed. Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 (e), a hole 3d is formed in the insulating plate 3A so that the bus bar 4 of the second layer is formed.
Expose part of B.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 5D, the notch 3 is formed in the insulating plate 3B of the bus bar 4B of the second layer.
By forming c, a part of the third-layer bus bar 4C may be exposed.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 2, a part of the FPC 6 is defined by a mountain fold line ii and a valley fold line JJ, which corresponds to a step of the notch 3b of the insulating plate 3A. It is bent in steps at the height and the FPC of this bent portion 6e
The end 7d of the copper foil pattern 7 exposed from 6 is joined to the second layer bus bar 4B by laser welding or the like. FIG.
As shown in (e), the end portion 7e exposed from the copper foil pattern 7 of the FPC 6 is bent stepwise at a height corresponding to the step of the hole 3d of the insulating plate 3A, and the end portion 7e is formed into a second shape. It is joined to the bus bar 4B of the layer by laser welding or the like.

These bent portions also have copper foil patterns 7
Is provided with a notch concave portion 7f to make the copper foil pattern 7 thinner, and the FPC 6 is bent along a bending line having no copper foil pattern 7 at a position before and after the notch concave portion 7f, whereby the bending can be easily performed with high precision. You.

In the example shown in FIG. 5D, a part of the FPC 6 is further divided into a mountain fold line mm and a valley fold line n-
n, a stepwise bending process is performed at a height corresponding to the step of the notch 3c of the insulating plate 3B.
Third end 7d of copper foil pattern 7 exposed from PC 6
It is joined to the bus bar 4C of the layer by laser welding or the like.

The end 7d of each of the bent portions 6e or 6f is inserted into the rib 3a of the insulating plate 3B or 3C by inserting the hole 6a of the FPC 6 in the same manner as described above, and then the tip of the rib 3a is pressed by a hot press or the like. FPC by crushing and expanding
The vicinity of the welded joint 6 is fixed to the insulating plate 3B or 3C.

With the above configuration, the uppermost bus bar 4A
The end 7a of the copper foil pattern 7 of the FPC 6 applied to
Notch 3b formed in insulating plate 3A (or 3B) so that bus bar 4B (or 4C) of the second layer (or third layer) is exposed while being welded to bus bar 4A of the applied layer.
(Or 3c) or F at a height corresponding to the step of hole 3d.
The PC bar 6 is bent stepwise, and the end 7d or 7e of the copper foil pattern 7 of the bent portion 6e (or 6f) is welded to the corresponding lower bus bar 4B (or 4C) to form a bus bar 4A between different layers. And 4B (or 4
C) can be reasonably connected using the FPC 6.

Therefore, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to complete the circuits of the bus bars 4A to 4E for each layer, so that the degree of freedom in arranging the bus bars 4A to 4E is improved. In addition, a notch 3b (or 3c) or a hole 3d is formed in the insulating plate 3A (or 3B) serving as a dead space of the bus bars 4A to 4E, or the bus bars routed in the dead spaces of the respective layers are connected by the FPC 6. Since the circuit can be formed by using the dead space, the dead space can be effectively used. Furthermore, FP
Since the bus bars 4A to 4E can be connected to different layers using C6, the number of bus bar layers can be reduced, and the FPC
The thickness (about 0.3 mm) of 6 is about 1/4 of the thickness (about 1.2 mm) of the busbars 4A to 4E, so that the layer thickness can be reduced, so that the electric junction box 5 can be reduced in weight and size.

Further, the ribs 3a formed on the insulating plates 3A to 3C near the joints between the ends 7a, 7d and 7e of the copper foil pattern 7 of the FPC 6 and the bus bars 4A to 4C are provided with FPCs.
6 by inserting the hole 6a and crushing and enlarging the tip of the rib 3a, the vicinity of the joint portion of the FPC 6 is insulated by the insulating plates 3A to 3A.
C, the connection ends 7a, 7d, 7e of the FPC 6
Since no stress is applied to the vicinity, disconnection does not occur.

[0028]

As is clear from the above description, the electrical junction box of the present invention is capable of joining a part of the copper foil pattern of the flexible printed circuit to the bus bar of the applied layer, and A part of the flexible printed circuit is bent stepwise at a height corresponding to the notch or hole formed in the insulating plate so that the busbars of the layers other than the cheek layer are exposed, and the copper foil of this bent part Because part of the pattern is joined to the busbars on layers other than the layer to which it is applied, the busbars between different layers can be
You can use the print circuit to connect reasonably.

Therefore, it is not necessary to complete the circuit of the bus bar for each layer, so that the degree of freedom in arranging the bus bar is improved. Further, a circuit can be formed by forming a notch or a hole in the dead space, or connecting the bus bars arranged in the dead space of each layer by a flexible printed circuit, so that the dead space can be effectively utilized.

Further, since the connection between bus bars can be made between different layers using a flexible printed circuit,
Since the number of busbar layers can be reduced, and the thickness of the flexible printed circuit is about 1/4 of the thickness of the busbar, the thickness of the layers can be reduced, so that the electric junction box can be reduced in weight and size.

Further, after inserting a hole in the flexible printed circuit into the rib of the insulating plate near the joint between the copper foil pattern of the flexible printed circuit and the bus bar, the tip of the rib is crushed and enlarged to expand the flexible printed circuit. -When the vicinity of the junction of the printed circuit is fixed to the insulating plate (claim 2), no stress is applied to the vicinity of the connection of the flexible printed circuit, so that the disconnection does not occur.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electric junction box of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flexible print circuit.

[Fig. 3] Flexible print before bending
It is a perspective view of a circuit.

4A and 4B are main parts of a flexible print circuit, wherein FIG. 4A is a perspective view before bending, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view after bending.

5A is a cross-sectional view of a flexible printed circuit, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a rib, FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of a crushed rib, and FIG. 5D is a copper foil pattern on a third-layer bus bar. FIG. 4E is a cross-sectional view in which a copper foil pattern is bonded to a second-layer bus bar from a hole in an insulating plate.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a main part of a flexible printed circuit in which a cut recess is formed in a copper foil pattern,
(B) Flexible board with dummy copper foil pattern
It is a principal part perspective view of a printed circuit.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional electric junction box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower case 2 Upper case 3 (A-D) Insulating plate 3a Rib 3b, 3c Notch 3d hole 4 (AE) Bus bar 5 Electric connection box 6 Flexible printed circuit (FPC) 6a hole 6e, 6f Bending part 7 Copper foil pattern 7a, 7d, 7e End 7b Bending guide 8 Insulating sheet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electric junction box containing busbars laminated via an insulating plate, wherein at least one of the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer of the busbar is covered with an insulating sheet on both sides of a copper foil pattern. The printed circuit is applied, and a part of the copper pattern of the flexible printed circuit is bonded to the applied layer of the bus bar, while the bus bar of the layer other than the applied layer is exposed. A notch or hole is formed in the insulating plate, and a portion of the flexible printed circuit is bent stepwise at a height corresponding to the step of the notch or hole, and one of the copper foil patterns at the bent portion is bent. An electrical junction box, wherein the portion is joined to a bus bar of a layer other than the layer applied. 2. A pin-shaped rib is formed on an insulating plate near a joint between a copper foil pattern of the flexible printed circuit and a bus bar, and a hole inserted into the rib is formed on the flexible printed circuit. 2. The electrical connection according to claim 1, wherein the end of the rib is crushed and expanded after the hole is inserted into the rib, and the vicinity of the joint of the flexible printed circuit is fixed to the insulating plate. box.